Custom Trading Computers, Inc.

Superior Technology for Superior Results

Thursday, February 13, 2014

How Much Memory/RAM Do I Need

One of the most important components of a trading computer is the system
memory (RAM). Many traders believe that they need as much RAM as possible to
gain an advantage. This is only partially true. It is always wise to have more
RAM than needed, but more important is the quality of RAM being used. Processor
technology moves much quicker than any other technology in computers so many
times “high-end” systems get bottle-necked by having slow RAM. There is no
sense in having a processor that is so fast that it has to wait on the other
components of the computer. For starters, traders shouldn’t have less than 8GB
of system memory of any type of RAM. More important however is the speed of the
RAM being used. There are $50 sticks of RAM and $150 sticks of RAM, with
important reasons for the difference. When RAM leaves the manufacturing plant,
each stick is tested and rated. Depending on the rating, it will be placed into
specific categories of which the higher-end better rated RAM is more expensive.
The reason is simple: there is a lot less “high rated” RAM in a batch than low
performing RAM. Nearly all major computer manufacturers use the generic or low
performance RAM in their systems to save on costs and keep their prices low to
the end-user.